Ethiopia on Saturday officially opened the Gibe 3 hydroelectric dam, which is among the biggest in Africa, despite concerns by environmentalists about its impact downstream and upon neighboring countries.

Ethiopia has more than 45,000 MW of untouched hydro potential, plus huge resources of solar, wind and geothermal energy to tap; along with rising domestic demand for electricity; pro-investment policies; and plans laid out for the country to become a region-wide clean energy exporter.

Ethiopia plans to launch hydropower dams and other renewable energy projects over the five years to 2020 that will add an additional 12,000 megawatts of electricity upon completion, a senior official said on Monday.

It’s called the Grand Renaissance Dam — and the clue is in the name. With some 8,500 laborers working around the clock on its construction, the imposingly-named dam is surely one of Africa’s most ambitious infrastructure projects.

The three main countries that share the Nile River’s waters moved toward an agreement to study whether a planned $4 billion Ethiopian dam would disrupt flows to downstream countries, water ministers of Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt said after talks on Friday.

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